That’s how long it took San Diego State to score nine points against Wyoming this time.

It took 2:34 to score the next nine … and 3:33 to score the next nine … and 5:28 to score the next nine.

Or look at it this way: The Aztecs, then ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press poll, scored nine points – the lowest in Mountain West history – in the first half at Wyoming a month ago; Dwayne Polee II, usually buried on the bench, had 11 points alone at the half on Tuesday night.

The Aztecs would win 79-51, no doubt talking their bandwagon fans off the ledge after a pair of close road losses last week. They led 37-13 at the half, had their highest shooting percentage (.682) in six seasons, had a 35-16 advantage on the boards, became the first team this season to break 70 on Wyoming and still would have won even if they went scoreless for the final 12 minutes.

“I didn’t have a chance to get any offensive rebounds,” said JJ O’Brien, who had at least one in the previous 16 games, “because we weren’t missing.”

Two other zeros on the stat sheet belonged, incredibly, to starting guards Chase Tapley and Xavier Thames. In points.

Three days after scoring a game-high 22 in the loss at UNLV, including SDSU’s final 10 of the game, Tapley took three shots in 27 minutes and missed them all, although he did have a season-high seven assists. Thames was 0 of 3 and had two assists.

But on this night, with this motivation, against this opponent, the Aztecs (19-7, 7-5) didn’t need their scoring.

“They whipped us about every way you can,” Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt said. “It wouldn’t serve me or my team well if I talked about any of the people who were ill or who were unable to play.”

He also might not have enough time.

Guard Luke Martinez, their leading scorer, has been out since early January after an arrest for a Laramie bar fight. Forward Leonard Washington, their leading rebounder and second leading scorer, sat out with a sprained ankle. Forward Larry Nance Jr., sick all last week, got an IV before the game and managed just four points and no rebounds in 31 minutes.

Then sophomore forward Derek Cooke Jr., starting for Washington and their only other serviceable big, wrenched his back midway through the first half and didn’t play in the second.

The result was eerily familiar. The Aztecs shot 4 of 24 in their nine-point first half last month in Laramie. The Cowboys (19-7, 4-8) shot 4 of 24 in the first half in San Diego.

Meanwhile, those fans who did bother showing up in supposedly soldout Viejas Arena (the student section was two-thirds full, and there were patches of empty seats everywhere else) were treated to Polee’s best game of the season with James Rahon sidelined due to a sprained right shoulder.

The sophomore transfer from St. John’s had appeared in only seven of the 11 conference games, averaging 1.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in 5.9 minutes. He finished with 16 points and five rebounds (but three turnovers) in 18 minutes.

“With James Rahon going down, he’s a big part of our offense,” said Polee, who equaled his career high in points, from his first collegiate game at St. John's. “(Rahon) pulled me aside before the game tonight and said I had to step up, and that’s exactly what I did … I’m playing behind a lot of great players right now who have a lot of Aztecs history. I’m just waiting my turn and, when I’m in, just making the most of my minutes.”

Said Coach Steve Fisher: “If he plays close to what he did tonight, we are going to have to keep him in the rotation. He’s earned an opportunity to get some minutes with or without James Rahon.”

Lost in the glow of Polee’s performance was one of the more efficient nights from Jamaal Franklin, who has come under criticism lately for his sometimes, uh, questionable shot selection.

“Jamaal had a really good stat line, but the way he got it was what was impressive,” Fisher said. “He’s really been working on trying to do that, being more conscious of having more of a mid-range game and not lowering his head and taking it to the basket every time. I thought what he did tonight was what we’d all like to see a little more often.

“He didn’t try to do too many things, didn’t push stuff when it wasn’t there for him. It was nice to see.”

Notes

Next up: Nevada here on Saturday at 3 p.m. … The last time SDSU shot better in a game was 69.6 percent in a 119-82 win against Campbell on Dec. 12, 2006 … The 28 points represent the fifth-largest margin of victory for the Aztecs in a Mountain West game, and the fifth-largest rebound margin … The 24-point halftime lead was SDSU’s largest since 48-21 here against Utah on Feb. 8, 2011, when O’Brien was a freshman forward for the Utes. “I’m glad I’m on the other side this time,” O’Brien said.